The Spaghetti Incident
by Grape Nehi
Summary: When Hawkeye walks out during an operation, he can't help but doubt his abilities as a surgeon. Rated PG for mild language. Please R&R!


This is the first fanfic I ever wrote. Therefore it is not too good. I wrote it for a contest and the challenge was to make up a fanfic with the title 'The Spaghetti Incident'. This is what I came up with. I don't know if I'm going to add more. If you want me to, please R&R and let me know. _G.N._

**Disclaimer:** I don't own these lovely characters and I never will. Unless... I strike it rich. Then maybe I could. I'll have to look into that. Anyway, they are currently not mine.

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"Trap, I don't think I can finish."

Hawkeye Pierce stepped back from the makeshift operating table and took off his surgical gloves. He glanced over at Trapper McIntyre, who was operating on a young Korean soldier two tables away, and then looked down at the floor.

"Pierce?" Colonel Henry Blake said as he momentarily looked up from his patient. "What's up?"

Hawkeye muttered, "I think I need some... I need some air." He slowly backed out of the operating theater with every syllable.

Trapper John quickly instructed a nurse to take over for him and then rushed over to Hawkeye's former patient.

"Damn," he exclaimed. "I don't think I can blame him."

Within 15 minutes all of the wounded had been treated and they were all beginning the recovery process in Post Op. Trapper threw his scrubs into the designated bins and donned his rain poncho.

Rain hit the captain's soft curls as soon as he crossed the threshold. His eyes examined the compound and then rested on a handsome man with soaked black hair and magnificent blue eyes. Trapper walked towards the end of the building where Hawkeye was sitting against the exterior wall.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Trapper said as he kneeled down beside his friend.

"Nickel and you've got 'em," Hawkeye said without taking his eyes off his worn in boots.

Trapper smiled his legendary crooked smile. Then his face became serious again. "I don't think any less of you."

"No offense, but it doesn't matter how much _you_ think of me. The important thing is that _I_ think less of me." Hawkeye looked into Trapper's eyes briefly then resumed focus on his boots.

Trapper didn't know how to reply. "I'm going to grab something to digest. God knows I don't wanna eat it. Don't stay out here too long or you'll get sick." With that he got up from the soggy ground and walked towards the mess tent looking back once or twice to see if Hawkeye was looking at him. But Hawkeye was still looking at his rain-covered boots.

"Henry," Trapper said as he took a sip of something that resembled coffee. "I'm real worried about Hawkeye. Maybe you could put in a call to Sidney?"

Henry looked at Trapper John. "McIntyre, I'm busy. If you want to, you can call Major Freedman. But right now I'm up to my shorts in things to do. The generator is on the fritz again, we're low on blankets, and there's a leak in the Pre Op ceiling. Not to mention a bunch of wounded are to be expected tonight."

"Radar, can you..."

"I'll help you place the call, Captain," Radar O'Reilly said as he got up from the table. 

"Knock, knock," Sidney Freedman said as he entered the swamp.

"Sidney, you got here faster than sound," Trapper said as he poured himself, Hawkeye, and their guest a homemade martini.

"I was in the vicinity. Hawkeye! How are you?"

Hawkeye Pierce looked up at Major Freedman from his cot. "Sorry I'm not being very hospitable, but there's trouble at the hospital."

"Trouble?" Sidney said as he sat on the edge of Frank Burns's bunk. Frank was on duty in Post Op, and his presence was not missed.

"Yeah, trouble. With a capital T, which rhymes with P, which stands for patient," Hawkeye said as he placed his untouched martini on the table that the still was positioned on.

"I think I'll go shower since the rain has stopped. Actually, that really makes no sense at all," Trapper John said, sensing that it was time for Hawkeye and Sidney to be alone.

"Good idea," Sidney joked. "It's been too long."

Trapper left with a very serious expression on his face and an army green towel and his robe in his hand.

"So trouble with a patient?" Sidney said as he sipped his martini. "What happened?"

"I was working on this guy. Actually he was a boy. He couldn't have been over 16. I opened up him up and I just couldn't deal with it. It reminded me of, get this Sidney, spaghetti. The spaghetti I had eaten the night before."

"So what did you do?" Sidney slouched on the cot.

"I... I left. I deserted him. God, I left!" Hawkeye shouted as he got up from his cot.

"It happens to the best of us, Hawk."

"It shouldn't happen to me, but it seems to over and over again. I feel like I'm worthless as a surgeon." Hawkeye sat back down.

"That's normal. Listen, I want you to go see the boy now. That'll show you that you didn't hurt anyone by leaving."

Hawkeye burst into tears. "He died, Sidney. He damn went and died!"


End file.
